(((Another))) "Must Have for Baby" List --- What I'm Doing Differently the Second Time Around

I know. 

You're thinking "Geez. Another one of these lists??"

They're everywhere. You can find 723 different "Must Have for Baby" lists on Pinterest and that's just the first time through. 

But here we are. Me with another list and you reading. So stick with me because I wouldn't be writing this if I didn't want to share with you what's made my life a little easier since having my 2nd baby a little over 3 months ago. I'm giving you 6 of the things that I would've done differently with my first baby if I had it to do all over again. So here we go.

1. Bassinet

I'm aware that I'm super late to the game with this one but I didn't have a bassinet with Cali. She slept in her crib in our room because I thought "We don't need a bassinet. That's a waste of space and money". This time around, however, we bought the Halo Sleeper bassinet and it's been amazing! When Nash cries, I barely have to lift my head up to reach over and pat him back to sleep. It's the only one we've owned so I can't speak to any other brand but I imagine there are a lot of good ones out there.

2. Qalo Ring

This is weird. Right? You're wondering why I'm putting a ring on my list of things for baby? Well if you've ever touched one of these rings, you'd know why! I was instantly hooked the moment I took it out of the cute little pouch it came in. It's so soft! And light! I barely know it's there. With Cali, I didn't wear my wedding or engagement rings for the first 6 months because I kept scratching her! With the Qalo ring I don't have to worry about that. I can wipe Nash's face and butt and not have to worry about the delicate skin getting scratched while still wearing a ring to let all of those available and looking men know I'm taken. Because, ya know, dark circles and spit up really attract those single men. ;)

3. Glow in the dark paci

It took me a long time to learn this trick with Cali, but with Nash, I started right away! In the middle of the night when baby is already waking up a million times to eat, the last thing I want is for him to wake up even more because he lost his paci. This MAM glow in the dark paci helps with that! How cool?? This way when they lose it, they can see it to pop it back in themselves. You're welcome.

4. Sugarplum Lane Baby blanket

You can go ahead and use whatever baby blanket you like but if you're not using this Sugarplum Lane one, you're missing out. And you can't say I didn't warn you. I'm a big fan of supporting small businesses and so I have multiple blankets made by them. This brand is, by far, one of the best and well made baby blankets I own. Not only is it SUPER CUTE (Seriously? Look at those snow top mountains! All the heart eyes.) but it's light weight and slightly stretchy. I use it for everything from burp cloth, to swaddle, to tummy time blanket. Also, it's really well made. Durable. Which matters when I'm spending money on something. I want it to last!  And it folds up so small that it's super easy to pack in a diaper bag. This blanket fits all of my criteria. Go on, get you one! They also have a lot more cute designs.

5. Blooming Bath

Guys. This one is a game changer. This Blooming Bath has completely changed my thoughts on bathing my baby. I won't even lie. Bath time was NOT something I looked forward to. Babies are slippery and it terrified me. And Nash hated it. But our first time using this bathtub, Nash didn't cry once and I didn't have a panic attack! He can sit up by himself in it because it's a non slip material. And it's warm so he likes it too! Which means bath time is fun again! YAY!!! If you have a baby and don't have one of these, I feel sorry for you. Like, for realz. If you've been on the fence because it's slightly pricier than other cheapo tubs, I am here to tell you, it's worth it. 100 times over. Worth it. Worth it. 

6. Purse Organizer

This is more of a "hack" but I seriously wish I'd done this with Cali. I have the majority of Nash's necessities in one of these purse organizers that I paid less than $10 for on Amazon. His diapers, wipes, gas drops, extra change of clothes, face wipes, extra paci, paci clip, extra bib, etc. They all fit in this thing. I can keep his stuff separate from mine in any bag I carry. I can then either carry just the organizer (it has nifty little handles) or switch it from bag to bag effortlessly. You should try it.

So there you go. These are the 6 things I use more than any other baby gear I have. I hope it helps you! Do yourself a favor and go get you these things!

15 Thoughts This Mom Has Every Day

In between playing Ring Around the Rosie with Cali 457 times a day (it's her current obsession), and feeding Nash gas drops allll day, or responding to requests like "Mommy! I'm pooping! Wipe my butt!", I tend to have the same reoccurring thoughts on a daily basis. My days are pretty redundant during this phase of my life and I thought I'd let you into the very tired brain of a mom of a newborn and toddler.

In case you were wondering.

I'm not solving world peace or anything but here it is none the less...

 

 



1. Can my arm fall off from reaching over the bassinet and patting the baby's butt so much?

This is a legitimate concern. Nash's bassinet is right next to my side of the bed and I feel like I spend 3/4 of the night reaching over to pat his butt to teach him to "self soothe". I'll be honest. I usually give up 30 minutes in and rock/nurse him to sleep. Surely I'm doing permanent damage. They say patting the butt helps him learn to fall asleep on his own but I'll take bets on which happens first: my kid sleeping, or my arm falling off. My guess is the arm.

 

 

 

2. Remember when I used to like partying at 3am?

Seriously. How did I function in college? When I really think about how little sleep I got back then, it's amazing I didn't nod off in the middle of conversations. Which I did to my husband the other day,by the way. Yup. In the middle of him talking to me, I fell asleep sitting up. Oops. But why can't I seem to find the energy I used to have? Not to mention my diet no longer consists of wine and frozen corndogs 3 meals a day. You think I'd have more energy. Not less.

 

3. How does Cali run off so little sleep?

Speaking of energy, my 3 year old seems to have it in SPADES. And she's a horrible sleeper. Always has been. Maybe it's because I gave up patting her butt too soon.

 

 

 

4. I need to lay off Google.

Google is the devil. For realz, y'all. In the middle of the night, while I'm patting Nash's butt with my right hand, my left hand is usually Googling something like "Yellow mucous poop in newborn?" or "How much coffee is too much coffee?" or even "WHEN WILL MY KID SLEEP?!" and the results always make me either A)Worried something serious is wrong with my baby or B) guilty that I seem to be the only mom in the universe who's kid(s) refuses to sleep.

 

5. I should flirt with Tim more.

Poor Tim. I'm so tired these days that 99.9% of our conversations consist of talking about my Google searches, Crazy Cali, or my lack of sleep. The other .01% of our conversations, I apparently fall asleep during. He really is a saint. (And before all of you crazy internet commenters start giving me marriage advice, I'm exaggerating. A little. My marriage is great.)

 

6. How can I go pee without a baby attached to me and Cali following me to the bathroom?
This sounds like it would be easy but trust me... It takes very strategic planning and lots of distraction.

 

7. What is that smell?

Oh. It's me. Must be spoiled milk and unwashed hair.

 

 

 

8. How many times a day can Cali say "Mommy! Watch this Mommy!"?

I think her record is probably somewhere around 583 times in an hour. And the stuff she wants me to watch is usually things like her grinding crackers into my carpet, or her jumping off the bed, or her trying to pick up Nash. Ya know, things I should probably correct her on but she's always so dang proud of herself.

 

9. I wonder who Ben kicked off "The Bachelor" last night.

Don't judge me. I like this show. And never get to watch it live. Like, ever. I'm aware of the fact that I'm 31, with two kids, and a house to keep up and so my brain space should really be occupied by more important things than trash TV but what can I say? It's my guilty pleasure.

 

10. Have I fed Cali lunch today?

Or has she only eaten things like cheese and crackers? Probably the latter. Sure, go ahead and tell me that if I wasn't thinking about things like who Ben Higgins marries then I'd probably remember to feed my kid an actual meal. I'll just tune you out.

 

11. When does Tim come home? Is he home yet? Is it close to him being home?

No. In case you were wondering. We've still got, like, 1,000 days. Not really but that's what it feels like. How do military spouses and single parents do it? They're heroes. Like, should be given medals kinda heroes.

 

12. Can I buy some magic unicorn dust that will somehow make this easier?

You know, something that will make my kids sleep or get my newborn to not cry so much or will magically clean my house. Tell me where to find that and I'll pay good money for it.

*Google searches 'magic unicorn dust'*

 

13. How many days in a row have I worn these yoga pants?

Umm...

 

14. I should probably go to sleep now. I'll be up again in 30 minutes. Patting Nash's butt.

Never fails. Every night when both of my kids FINALLY fall asleep, and I'm staying up watching a recap of The Bachelor, this thought goes through my head. But sometimes I just need quiet. But I also know that soon and very soon one (or both, more than likely) of my kids will wake up so I probably need to take advantage of this time and actually sleep. And I will. Right after this group date...

 

15. This too shall pass.

I tell myself this every. single. day. Parenting is tough. And despite my jokes about magic unicorn dust, it's not supposed to be easy. WE'RE RAISING HUMANS. Actual people that will grow up and go out into the world and make some sort of impact. And I'm 100% aware that I am SO FREAKING BLESSED to live this life. Honestly. I'm living my dream. Yes, it's exhausting. Yes, I've given up on ever getting more than 5 hours of straight sleep until my kids are out of the house. And no, I don't shower every day (Do not give me that look). But when Cali wraps her arms around me and says something like "I love you mommy. We best friends" or "I so essited to cuddle with you" my heart melts into one giant puddle of mush and temporarily forget every other thought running through my head. Because the time is NOW and babies don't keep. So I'll pat Nash's butt and spin around the Rosie until I fall over. This is a season and I'll miss it when it's gone. 

 

 

 

 

Making Memories & Starting New Traditions

Christmas is 2 weeks away and I am so excited for Cali's first Christmas! She's not really old enough yet to know exactly what's going on but we're putting small traditions in place this year so that we can carry them on and grow them year to year. 

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned it here but I have a humungous family. My parents are house parents at a children's home in Alabama call The Big Oak Ranch. We moved there when I was 5 years old and minus a few years in between my parents have been there ever since. So what this means is that I have 12 siblings, sometimes more. In our house Christmas time means not only chaos lots of love, but many traditions as well. It starts with putting up the tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We build a fire (and if it's not cold enough in Alabama for a fire, we turn the air on so that it is cold enough), drink hot chocolate or apple cider, and listen to the Jackson 5 Christmas album. My mom has kept every handmade ornament from all 5,000 kids that she's parented so after the tree is so full it's about to topple over, we all walk outside and look at the tree lit up from the outside of our house. Not much of that makes any sense and I'm sure there's more efficient ways of doing things, but it's tradition. It's the way that it has to be done.

While I have always enjoyed my family's Christmas traditions, T and I having our own family now gives us the opportunity to start new traditions; ones that are just ours. We have a few things that we know we want to put into place now so that we can enjoy them together as our child(ren) grow. I'm going to list some of the new traditions we'd like to put in place. These are what we want for our family, not what I think anyone else needs to do for theirs. But if you like any of them, have at it. 

1. Family Pictures - T and I are both SO BAD at actually making a point to look nice and take pictures. I love pictures and I love taking them, I just hate being in them. But I don't want to die one day (hopefully a loooong time from now) and Cali not have any pictures of us all together. I figure Christmas is a great time to do it. 

2. Advent - This isn't something that either of us really did growing up but it's something we'd like to start. Starting on the first day of Advent we'll light the candle and read the scriptures and use the month of December as a time of repentance and preparation for celebrating our Savior's birth.

3. Picking a Charity - I feel bad saying this because we should have a giver's heart all year, but we really want to make a point to use the Christmas season as a time to appreciate all of our blessings and help bless those who are in need. I think Christmas has become such a consumer's holiday and we want to make sure that we point our children to how much we already have been given.

4. Four Presents - I saw this idea years ago and loved it: Something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read. I'm not sure where it comes from but it's always floating around the internet. And I figure if 3 gifts was enough for Jesus on his birthday, it'll be enough for my kids. Actually, I've always lobbied for a gift free Christmas but nobody ever goes with me on it. Just think of how much stress and money we'd save! Oh well.

5. A Christmas ornament - This is something that my family kind of did every year. My mom always forced encouraged us to pick out a Christmas ornament. But I'd like to actually make one with my kid(s). My sister-in-law actually made this one for Cali's first Christmas since she's too young to do it herself. 

6. Birthday Party for Jesus - I would really like to make a cake and actually celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas night. Go all out and do an actual birthday party. ** T would like for me to add that we're not baking Jesus the cake. That's weird. He can't eat cake. I just meant that we'd celebrate the day for what it actually is… Christ's birthday. Not just a day that we get presents.**

7. No Santa - Now, before you stone me let me say this : Santa terrifies me. Really. Also, both T and I can remember the exact days we found out about Santa not being real and how upset we were so we agreed it's just not something we're going to do. I'll tell her all about St. Nicholas (the actual man that lived) when she inevitably asks who Santa Clause is but we won't do the fat man coming down the chimney. 

So those are the main traditions that we hope to put in place. We want to always keep the actual reason for the season as our main focus and pass that along to our children. Whatever traditions you have with your family, I hope you enjoy them!

Also, if you loved that adorable ornament that my sister-in-law made me, she has some other amazing crafts on her Facebook page! Just to prove how right I am, here's a great wreath that she did for Christmas. She's super talented and crafty and can make pretty much anything to order. You can contact her through her page! So, go shop handmade for Christmas over here!